David Yuan, M.D., Ph.D.

David Yuan, M.D., Ph.D.

Research Scientist
Center for Dementia Research
845-398-5438

Dr. Yuan received his M.D. degree from Hunan Medical University, China, and his Ph.D. from University of Otago Medical School, New Zealand. He did postdoctoral research at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Dr. Yuan has been at NKI’s Center for Dementia Research as a research scientist since 2001, studying the dysfunctions of cytoskeleton and axonal transport in neuropsychiatric diseases with the goal of developing effective treatment for these disorders. He has received a research award from the Sandoz Foundation for Gerontological Research, Australia; and a travel award from American Society for Cell Biology. Dr. Yuan has served as reviewer for grant applications to the UK Motor Neuron Disease Association and the French Muscular Dystrophy Association. He has also served as an editor for the book “Cytoskeleton of the Nervous System”, and as a reviewer for a number of scientific journals, including Nature Cell Biology, Journal of Cell Biology, Trends in Neurosciences, and Journal of Neuroscience.

Select Publications

  • Neurofilament subunits are integral components of synapses and modulate neurotransmission and behavior in vivo. Yuan A, Sershen H, Veeranna, Basavarajappa BS, Kumar A, Hashim A, Berg M, Lee JH, Sato Y, Rao MV, Mohan PS, Dyakin V, Julien JP, Lee VM, Nixon RA. Molecular psychiatry. 2015; 20(8):986-94. PMID: 25869803 PMCID: PMC4514553
  • Peripherin is a subunit of peripheral nerve neurofilaments: implications for differential vulnerability of CNS and peripheral nervous system axons. Yuan A, Sasaki T, Kumar A, Peterhoff CM, Rao MV, Liem RK, Julien JP, Nixon RA. The Journal of neuroscience. 2012; 32(25):8501-8. PMID: 22723690 PMCID: PMC3405552
  • Neurofilaments form a highly stable stationary cytoskeleton after reaching a critical level in axons. Yuan A, Sasaki T, Rao MV, Kumar A, Kanumuri V, Dunlop DS, Liem RK, Nixon RA. The Journal of neuroscience. 2009; 29(36):11316-29. PMID: 19741138 PMCID: PMC2788791
  • Axonal transport rates in vivo are unaffected by tau deletion or overexpression in mice. Yuan A, Kumar A, Peterhoff C, Duff K, Nixon RA. The Journal of neuroscience. 2008; 28(7):1682-7. PMID: 18272688 PMCID: PMC2814454
  • Alpha-internexin is structurally and functionally associated with the neurofilament triplet proteins in the mature CNS. Yuan A, Rao MV, Sasaki T, Chen Y, Kumar A, Veeranna, Liem RK, Eyer J, Peterson AC, Julien JP, Nixon RA. The Journal of neuroscience. 2006; 26(39):10006-19. PubMed [journal]PMID: 17005864